Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes:Tuesday night, November 10th , from 5pm-8pm (ish) Marshall Community Center, conference room 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)Saturday November 14th , from 11am-2pm (ish) Vancouver YMCA 11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (SR 500 & 112th/Gher Road)**please remember that in November & December we do limited classes because of the holidays. If these class dates and/or times don't work for you, please let us know. We understand that you have lives, and families, and work. We will work something out that works better with your schedule. Just let us know.... ....we also have home seller classes available too...link on left on website Remember...with reservation...we will throw in lunch, or dinner! :-D ~~~~~~~~~ I know...I have to keep reminding you about our WINTER CLIENT APPRECIATION event will be held on Saturday, December 19, 2015, for the Opening Weekend of STAR WARS: The force awakens. The event will be held from 2:30pm-5:30pm, with seating to start at 2:45pm. Because this is expected to be a pretty big event, Chris Berg (Pinnacle Mortgage 503-320-0295, cberg@pcmloan.com), & I are also renting out the top living room portion for 21+....and yes, there will be tickets this time that we will have available for pick up at the Pinnacle Mortgage office with Chris. We are taking reservations now, so please...if you plan on attending let us know how many tickets you need. The 21+ area is now full, but we currently have plenty (so far) for the general seating area. We look forward to seeing you there!! :-DHappy Sunday...or in my home, better known as "family day" My kindergartner recently told me the following, "Mom, I love Saturday & Sunday....I wish it could be Saturday & Sunday every day". Preach it, kid! :-D In our home, I obviously work on Saturdays with clients, and the classes, but that has always been 'dad day'...that's the day that the kids always get dad to themselves.....and Sunday is "family day". We try to keep this day as low-key as possible. With the rainy fall weather it's also, "snuggle & movie/football" day. Everyone loves & needs some down time, right? With the home buyer classes, I am almost always asked if people have to rsvp, and while that is nice so we know how many packets to bring, and how many sandwiches, etc, we should have, we always welcome walk ins too. So, so why don't we enforce the class rsvp? Because, for one thing they're free, and we teach them a couple of time a month, but also because we know that many folks who rsvp won't make it to the class because other things come up. Now...don't feel bad....life happens to all of us! It just does, and the surest way to make fate laugh is to say that you have 'a plan'....or to says that things are going great. :-D Our lives are very hectic with family, work, health, traffic,etc. Life happens to the best of us...and life doesn't stop because you are buying a home, or wanting to buy a home either. We know that life happens, and that things come up....they KEY to this is to talk with your agent and your lender. Some times, when you're buying a home and life happens, we can make sure it doesn't affect your homebuying adventure. However....sometimes people do things that does affect their home buying adventure so this week we are going to go over the things you should NOT do while in the process of buying a home... So, the last couple of weeks I have had some serious topics, so I would like to lighten the mood some, and still impart some knowledge as well. Chris Berg with Pinnacle Mortgage (503-320-0925 or cberg@pcmloan.com) has come up with a fabulous list of things NOT to do while buying a home....and yes, we have had clients do all of these in the past! :-) 55 Things NOT to do while buying a home, or when in underwriting....

DON'T buy a car (or co-sign for one)

DON'T apply for credit (no new credit cards, or loans)

DON'T close your credit account(s)

DON'T transfer money into, or between accounts

DON'T deposit cash (we will need receipts for where it has come)

DON'T quit your job or turn in your notice to quit your job

DON'T stop paying your bills

DON'T be late paying your bills

DON'T put items on layaway

DON'T do 'same as cash financing'

DON'T buy a fridge (or washer/dryer)

DON'T remover or add a person to your accounts

DON'T decrease your work hours

DON'T LIE TO YOUR LENDER (or lie by omission)

DON'T assume you can get away with something (we will find out...it's our job)

DON'T try to go around your agent by talking with the seller directly.

DON'T threaten your future neighbors

DON'T start moving in before closing

DON'T neglect of file your taxes

DON'T buy a boat

DON'T file for divorce

DON'T file for legal separation

DON'T change your name

DON'T have a garage sale, and deposit the cash from it (see #5)

DON'T sell a vehicle you don't own, and deposit the cash (see #5)

DON'T patrol the property you have made an offer on and threaten/harass other buyers

DON'T switch jobs

DON'T switch Banks, or open new bank accounts

DON'T buy an airplane

DON'T schedule an elective surgery

DON'T allow anyone to pull your credit

DON'T LIE TO YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT (or lie by omission)

DON'T assume you will understand closing paperwork...ask questions!

DON'T assume the figures at approval will be the same ones at closing. Approval is mostly guesstimates until you have an accepted offer...again, ask questions

DON'T pay your earnest money with CASH!

DON'T spend your down payment on furniture, or to go hunting

DON'T lose your earnest money on a bet...even if seems like a 'sure thing'

whew! We could probably come up with some more, but that works for now. :-) Please remember that a pre-approval is a snapshot of your current financial situation....if you change your financial situation you could lose your pre-approval...and your home. When in doubt...DON'T! Questions? Ask your agent, ask your lender....please remember that we work FOR you. Not sure about something? Ask. It is always better to be up front about any concerns, or issues you might have so that we can deal with them now...rather than try to play catch up later.

Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you. Good luck, and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there.... If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you. As always....this is just a quick overview.... please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU. You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals. Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure. The goal is to be informative and non-promotional. :-) We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure. If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard...or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email, text, or facebook me anytime. I am, as always, happy to help! Thank you again for your business and your referrals!! ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers. . ...disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings

Upcoming Topics: Septic vs Sewer, What is 'escrow'? & "When do I get KEYS?"Last Week:Buyers Due Diligence aka Caveat Emptor (or Buyer Beware) Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon, ;-D Tracie DeMars Real Estate brokerRe/Max - Van Mall 360/ 903-3504 cell 360/ 882-3600 fax www.traciedemars.comtraciedemars@aol.com“Interested in free and non promotional home buyer classes? Go to www.traciedemars.com for local upcoming classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog. Classes are now available for home owners thinking about selling their home. Links are on the left.""Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." - Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999).

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Tracie DeMarsreal estate broker with Re/Max

I have been in real estate for about 15 years now, and I have seen the market up, down, and now going up again. I teach the Clark County Free Community Classes for Home Buyers & Home Sellers to help buyers learn about the loan, and home buying process; and sellers to learn about the paperwork and process of selling a home. We are volunteers, and have no affiliations so we are able to tell it like it is...with no sugarcoating. The pros, the cons, we tell it all in a fun, engaging, direct manner that encourages class attendee interaction and involvement. Classes are free and non-promotional and held at community locations. Walk -ins are welcome and all are invited. ​Whether you're buying or selling a home, Education should always be your first step! **we now offer Home SELLER classes too, by reservation. It is a sellers market out there, and the classes are designed to go over all the paperwork, the 'right' questions to ask, how to make sure your agent is really working for you, what a CMA (comparable market analysis) is, and what is considered a comparable home....and going over the settlement statement. What are the fees? What are you going to net???